An Early Christian Reliquary Chest: The Late Antique Capsella Reliquiario of Grado

Housed in the Treasury of the Basilica of Sant'Eufemia in Grado is a silver reliquary chest that is dated to circa A.D. 500.  The chest is quite small, measuring only around 11.4cm (4.5") long,  6.8cm (3.5") high and 6.8cm (2.7") wide and as such, it is was evidently intended to hold smaller fragments of relics. But it is less its practical aspects and more it imagery and symbols that draws our particular interest today.

This particular reliquary is representative of the types of reliquary chests that were found in this late antique era. For example, if you wish to see other comparable examples coming from this same period, I would point you to the Capsella Africana and Capsella Vaticana both of which can be found in the collections of the Vatican Museums. As beautiful and interesting as those examples are too however, Grado's capsella truly shines in my estimation. 

The Grado capsella, with its period characteristic rope patterned edges, was designed to house the relics of the local Canziana saints and is thought to have most likely produced in Aquileia around A.D. 500. One side of the capsule indeed bears the images of and inscription related to the Canziana saints in question and you will see how very 'classical' the style of the portraiture is. 

The Canziani saints

But what makes this particular relic chest especially of interest I think, is the the lid of the reliquary as well as the other side. 

Beginning with the lid, it includes a beautiful crux gemmata (a bejewelled, ornamental cross) from which four springs or rivers emerge; the cross is then flanked by two lambs, representing the saints. This is classic late antique and early medieval Christian imagery.  The four rivers are something we can find within many ancient Roman basilicas and comes with reference to the rivers mentioned in relation to the Garden of Eden and also in the Book of Revelation, thus speaking to Paradise and to the cross as the Tree of Life. 

As already mentioned, the one side of the chest contains depictions of the Canziani saints -- local saints of importance in that particular region -- but as we look to the other side we can find images that are bound to have an even more universal appeal. The medallions in question depict, centrally, a very youthful looking, non-bearded Christ and to either side, Ss. Peter and Paul. Here again, I would direct your attention to the character and style of the portraiture here, which is very much classical and antique -- and it was precisely one of the things that first drew me to this particular capsella. 

Let's take a closer look.

Detail of the youthful looking Christ

Detail of the medallion of St. Peter

The other aspect worthing point out here are the two trees found to either side of medallions of Ss. Peter and Paul; they appear to be intended to represent palm trees, an inclusion that would certainly make sense given their common symbolic use during in this period, representative of the victories of the martyrs.

Detail of the medallion of St. Paul

One of the things that is interesting about looking at earlier Christian art is to precisely look at the particular symbols that were employed during this period -- symbols like palm trees for instance, or in other cases, peacocks, phoenixes and the like. These symbols can frequently give us some insight into the times which produced them and also to the Christian themes that were of particular importance to the Church and Christian community during this times. It tells us something of their spirituality. 

In this particular instance, we can yet still see the linkages to the ancient world coming through in the style of the art. In terms of the nature of the item, a reliquary, we can see the particular importance assigned to the Christian martyrs and the veneration of their relics. Finally, within the imagery, we can see the importance of eschatological themes, of the importance of the cult of local saints that can already been found in these centuries, as well as the strong devotion to Ss. Peter and Paul that was already flourishing.

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